SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's rowing finished its season at the WCC Championships on May 16 at Lake Natoma in Sacramento. The Broncos also has two rowers, Brittany Peters and Molly Walker, named to the 2015 All-WCC Women's Rowing Team.
"Saturday was a good day in that all boats were able to meet their potential and put down some of the best performances by this team in years, if not decades," said Santa Clara head coach John Wojtkiewicz. "The Varsity 8 put down the second fastest time (7:00.4) of an SCU Varsity 8 in 18 years of WCC Competition. The Varsity Four put down the third fastest time (8:17.6) of any Santa Clara four at WCCs, and the 2V8 put down the fastest time for a Santa Clara 2V since 2009. In all, it was a pretty good day."
The speed of all three boats bodes well for the future of the team.
"I am extremely proud of how this team has stepped up despite the challenges with injuries late in the season," continued Wojtkiewicz. "We made the group decision that the three weeks leading up to WCCs were going to be the most focused of the year, and that's what we did. There were a lot of other small victories over the year that we are celebrating, and the bottom line is that this is the strongest Santa Clara rowing team have I have ever coached. Given how many of our athletes are not just freshmen, but walk-on novices, we're going into next year primed and ready to raise the bar."
Wojtkiewicz was also proud of the two rowers that received All-Conference honors.
"Both Molly Walker and Brittany Peters have been terrific leaders on the team." Said Wojtkiewicz. "Molly has been a terrific captain this year, and it's been no small task being the sole captain with one of the largest squads we've had. Brittany is a constant driving force performance-wise, from the stroke seat of the Varsity 8 and in every workout she is the athlete we can always rely on to set the standard and then raise the bar a little bit more. We are fortunate to have them as leaders and contributors to our team."
2015 West Coast Conference Rowing Championship
Final Team Totals
1. Gonzaga – 39 Points*
2. San Diego – 39 Points*
3. Loyola Marymount – 28 Points
4. Saint Mary's – 25 Points
5. Portland – 19 Points
6. Santa Clara – 10 Points
7. Creighton – 8 Points
*Gonzaga wins tiebreaker due to victory in the I Eight Race
2015 West Coast Conference Women's Rowing Major Awards
WCC Newcomer of the Year: Isabelle Belzil, Gonzaga
WCC Coxswain of the Year: Karly Dougherty, Gonzaga
WCC Rower of the Year: Kara Soucek, Gonzaga
WCC Coach of the Year: Glenn Putyrae, Gonzaga
2015 All-West Coast Conference Women's Rowing Team
Creighton: Sarah Birnbaum, Anne Mari Stonikas
Gonzaga: Devyn Bell, Brooklyn Beeler, Maddie Turbes, Kara Soucek
Loyola Marymount: Toni Boteva, Louisa Del Valle
Portland: Kelly Herman, Claire Seibold
Saint Mary's: Sharyl Koenig, Claire Ochsner
San Diego: Nneka Anyanwu, Mary Jo Keys, Christina Morcom
Santa Clara: Brittany Peters, Molly Walker
Lineups
Varsity Eight
2nd Varsity Eight
Varsity Four
